DETROIT – Twenty schools were named as “beating the odds” by
the Michigan Department of Education recently, a term used to point out schools
whose students are performing better than predicted, according to the Detroit
Free Press.

The schools were chosen based on two studies, the Free Press
reported. One study compared actual performance to predicted performance among
schools with such risk factors as high poverty levels and large numbers of
minority students, while the second study identified schools that outperformed
a comparison group with similar demographics.

Combined, the studies identified 123 schools, but only 20
schools showed up on both lists, the Free Press reported.

In the Detroit area, that included Iris Becker Elementary
and Howe Trainable Center and Montessori, both in Dearborn Public Schools, and
the Business Entrepreneurship, Science and Technology Academy in Highland Park
and the M.L. King Jr. Education Center Academy in Detroit, according to the
Free Press.

Four schools made both the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 lists: the
MLK Academy in Detroit, Winn Elementary in Shepherd Public Schools, North
Godwin Elementary in Godwin Heights Public Schools and Glenwood Elementary in
Kentwood Public Schools, the Free Press reported.